Little Miracle
by Airreon Princess
Summary: Prime. The femme's optics were a light teal with flecks of lilac surrounding her pearl white pupil. Arcee immediately got lost in them. Then she saw those optics again on earth...and she was shocked. Mother/daughter relationship. Rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back with another story! Before any of you ask, I haven't abandoned Their Happily Ever After, I'm just suffering from writer's block on that one. I can't think of any good plot lines, so if any of you have any ideas, PM me.**

 **This story has been floating around in my head for quite some time, and I just had to write it down. Well, the first chapter at least.**

 **And before we go on with the story, I just want to say something to JayBeeZZ. Just felt like giving you a shout out. So hiiiiiiii!**

XXX

 _I couldn't save him...I couldn't save my partner!_

Those words echoed in Arcee's helm, swimming around and making her dizzy. It hasn't been a week since her partner and best friend, Tailgate, had been slaughtered by a Con spider named Airachnid.

It was supposed to be a regular tagging mission. Just a simple errand that had to be done. She didn't mean to get lost, but with the city filled with smoke and the magnificent skyscrapers reduced to rubble, it wasn't exactly easy to navigate. But as usual, Tailgate somehow managed to quench Arcee's discomfort with a friendly banter. That was one of the reasons why they worked so well together.

But luck was not on the femme's side as she got painfully shot and stuck to a wall. She would have never guessed that her life would take a turn for the worst.

Now, with her partner deceased, Arcee ran out of the small camp she was stationed at looking for trouble. Loathing coursed through her veins, setting her spark on fire. She felt it in her chest, a swelling regret that no matter how hard she tried, it simply would not leave. Her optics burned with tears and her throat felt cold. Her legs pounded furiously on the metal streets of ruined Iacon. One thought clouded her judgment and took control of her entire frame.

 _Revenge._

The hate towards the sadistic spider femme was immeasurable. Arcee, now at the edge of Autobot territory, collapsed onto the dusty ground and started to wail.

 _I couldn't save him...I couldn't save my partner!_

Her shoulders shook with sobs. Her faceplate was smudged in tears. She just couldn't take it anymore! Arcee's spark was broken, shattered into small fragments at the bottom of its chamber. Nothing got passed her right now. Nothing could possibly console her. She felt as if she flat out offlined right there that no one would care. Her family was gone, friends deceased; Arcee had no reason to live.

So maybe her thoughts were why she didn't hear the dark purple Decepticon sneak up behind her. Her processor was too secluded and foggy. Maybe her wish to die motivated him to take advantage of her weak state.

"I can make your pain go away, femme." That was what he said. And foolishly, she believed him. Maybe that was why he threw her to the ground. And maybe, just maybe that was how Arcee was now, alone and unaided, pushing with all her might to give this unintended sparkling life.

Whimpering, Arcee gripped the ball of mesh she'd brought with her for this exact purpose.

When she'd found out that the mech that raped her had gotten her pregnant, she disappeared, refusing to go back to her miserable life until this thing was out of her. She refused to love or feel this abomination. It was part con, Arcee didn't have it in her to love any con, full or half, to any extent. She never spoke to it, she never soothed it when it was restless. She only had energon when her reserves were low, hoping that it would affect the sparkling. No dice. Finally, after she'd gotten back from an energon station, the contractions started. Arcee knew what to do.

Another painful contraction hit her and she screamed, the mesh ball thinning with every squeeze. 5 hours. 5 hours Arcee had been alone and hurting, trying desperately to push this thing out. Her dental plates felt stiff as she clenched them together. Her fists were tight. Her optics were closed, a few tears escaping out of the corners. Why was thing taking so fragging long?

Arcee wailed, cursing the con who did this to her.

Speaking of the con, right after Arcee learned of her pregnancy, she'd immediately gone out and found him. Not giving him a chance to speak, she stabbed her blade straight through his spark chamber whispering "Now we're even."

She felt another contraction, but this one was different. Arcee pushed with all of her strength, a translucent energon dripping down her forehelm. She counted to three in her helm and stopped for a moment before sitting up and pushing once more. Arcee laid back down, satisfied with the shrieking coming from the flailing sparkling on the ground by her pedes.

Arcee gasped for air. That was the longest and most tiring experience of her life. She'd promised herself not to look at the sparkling, but she couldn't stop her helm as she sat up and glanced between her knees at the crying sparkling.

It was a beautiful little femme. She had almost the exact same build as Arcee, but with sharper angles on her chest armour and delicate winglets. The femme shimmered purple in the light of dusk. Arcee frowned before noticing her light pink highlights on her helm, wrists, chestplate and pedes. Only then did she let a small smile grace her faceplate. Arcee sat up, every piston and gear protesting at the motion. She reached down and picked up the still wailing sparkling. Upon feeling some warmth, the sparkling stopped wailing and simply whimpered. But when the small sparkling opened her optics, Arcee froze.

Her optics were a light teal with flecks of lilac surrounding her pearl white pupil. Arcee stared into her optics and got lost within the innocence within them. She couldn't leave this sparkling to fend for herself. She just couldn't.

So Arcee stood up with the quiet femme cradled in her arms and spoke softly to her.

"Listen, I'm so sorry for ignoring you. But now that you're here, I will never let my optics leave you. I promise." Arcee kissed the top of her head. The femme let out a giggle and reached her arms out towards the blue femme, managing to grasp her pink face armour. Arcee chuckled.

"So what am I gonna call you?" Arcee thought long and hard. The sparkling giggled and smiled towards the warrior. What name could possibly describe and identify this miracle? _That's it!_ thought Arcee.

"Miracle. You're name is Miracle." Miracle smiled and nuzzled into Arcee's chest.

XXX

They had only two weeks together before Arcee had to leave her. It broke Arcee's spark again, but she understood why it wasn't safe for Miracle in this war. She couldn't stop fighting. She'd been getting constant messages from the camp wondering where she went. She couldn't tell them about Miracle. Plus, she would be safer with a retiree.

That led the warrior and Miracle to the doorstep of a old bot's home. Miracle was currently asleep in a small metal crate, a blue pendant around her neck and a letter with all of her information. Arcee kissed her helm for the last time before ringing the bell and fleeing.

She watched from a distance as the black and white mech came out of the house and picked up her daughter. He read the letter silently and smiled sadly. Arcee let out a sigh of relief. The old bot picked up the sleeping sparkling, kissed her helm softly and strode inside his house. Arcee thought she'd never see Miracle again.

XXX

Arcee watched as Ratchet searched for any Decepticon activity. Suddenly, the green monitors began to flash and beep.

"Optimus!" he called, "I have detected two signals not far from here, at the same coordinates that Arcee and Cliffjumper arrived at. And seeing as though these are the exact same coordinates that you sent out as a rendezvous, it would seen that someone else has answered your call!" Arcee looked up to Optimus and saw his optics light up with hope. There was a very good chance that those two signals were Autobots...well, more of a 50% chance. But nonetheless, they could be Autobots.

"Contact them," Optimus said politely. Just then Bulkhead and Bumblebee arrived with the kids inside the cars. Arcee smiled to Jack. He grinned back.

"So what are we doing?" he asked.

"Ratchet found two life signals in the desert not far from here. We think they're Autobots. But since we're not too sure, we're just contacting them now," she explained. Jack nodded and didn't ask anymore questions. A weak, raspy voice rang out of the built-in speakers of the computer.

" **Are you Autobots or...Decepticons?** " the voice asked. From what Arcee could tell, the voice belonged to a very old mech. Optimus came up closer to the monitor.

"We are Autobots. I ask you that same question."

" **We're Autobots** ," the voice answered.

"Excellent," Optimus answered, "we are in need of enforcements."

" **You misunderstand sir. I will not be joining your team**." Everyone gasped.

"Why?"

" **You didn't let me finish. I am weak, dying in fact. I will not be joining your team, but my adoptive child will be. But I must ask you one question**."

"Please, ask whatever your spark wishes."

" **Is there a femme on your team**?" Everybody, humans included stood shocked and frozen for a few moments, then looked to Arcee. She felt rather uncomfortable with everyone looking at her. When it was clear that no one was going to answer the mech's question, Arcee rolled her optics and said yes.

"I only ask that you take good care of her, for she is young and was raised without a mother. So I ask of you to raise her together, as a family. She is depressed, sick, and wounded. Please, help her."

"We will," Arcee answered. She nodded to Ratchet who opened a groundbridge. "Send her through."

They didn't get a response. But Team Prime did hear crying from a very young femme. They placed two and two together and figured out that her caretaker had passed away. Arcee cringed. She knew how painful it was to watch someone pass away in front of your optics.

Just then a very small femme walked through the groundbridge. Her right arm looked detached and broken. Her faceplate was drowning in tears, and showed no sign of stopping. Arcee stood in front of the groundbridge, shocked to the core. This femme was purple and pink with light teal and lilac speckled optics. But what surprised Arcee the most was a blue pendant hanging on a chain around the girl's neck. It couldn't be her, could it?

Without warning, the femme ran forward and threw her good arm around Arcee's waist, sobbing into her stomach. Arcee felt her maternal instincts kick in and picked up the crying and frightened child, hugging her close to her chest. The purple femme wrapped her legs around her waist and her arm around her neck, now sobbing into her shoulder. Arcee stroked her winglets to calm her down and provide some comfort.

Even though she knew the answer, Arcee asked, "What's your name, little one?" The small femme looked up and uttered a single word.

"Miracle."

XXX

 **I love to put cliffhangers there! Keeps people coming back. Sorry! ;)**

 **So what did you all think? You like, you don't like, you "meh"? Leave a review please!**

 **Until next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just felt like writing today. I don't own the lyrics to A naoidhean bhig (O maiden fair)**

XXX

The shocked expression on Arcee's face confused the team. But that wasn't the only thing that they were puzzled about. Arcee had never been one for a motherly type, so what made this little femme so special?

Ratchet beckoned Arcee and Miracle over to the medbay where he told the larger femme to place Miracle on the berth. Arcee did so, but she still was not all there.

Miracle wailed and attempted to hide her arm, seemingly afraid of everyone but Arcee. Ratchet stroked her helm softly.

"It is ok little one. You are safe now." His voice was uncharacteristically compassionate. But that all faded when he startled Arcee.

"Arcee!" She seemed to snap out of her dazed state, "Comfort her! Can you not see that she is in pain? She only responds to you." Arcee finally shook her helm, clearing the swelling emotions within it and stroked Miracle's back once more.

"So Miracle," Arcee asked, watching Ratchet out of the corner of her optic, "Who was the old bot you were with?" When she spoke, it was the most beautiful thing Arcee ever heard.

"I never knew h-his real n-name. B-but he always told me t-to c-call him father. I miss him!" Miracle buried her helm into Arcee's stomach when Ratchet re-attached her arm. She cried out in pain. Arcee hugged her gently and cooed softly.

"Shhh, it's ok. I know it hurts, but it'll be all better soon. Shhh…" The little femme's cries were reduced to whimpering. Arcee smiled sadly.

Of course, she wasn't happy to see any sparkling in pain, but this is where she'd always wanted to be. Beside her daughter, comforting her in any way possible. When Arcee had to give her up, the only thing going through her processor was how much she would miss having times to themselves. Arcee mentally hit herself, again, for leaving her. Sure, it would've been hard, but they could've made it through the war. _Why was I so stupid?_

Arcee shook her helm again, pushing those thoughts deep down. Miracle needed her now, and she couldn't deny that. Ratchet was a miracle worker. Her arm was no longer hanging by wires, but firmly attached to the shoulder with a sling around it. Miracle was whimpering and nuzzled Arcee, subconsciously trying to get her to respond. Those wonderful teal and lilac found hers.

"What's your name?" she asked, curious.

"My name is Arcee."

"That's a very pretty name."

"Well, thank you, Miracle. You have a very pretty name too." Miracle giggled.

"Thank you."

Ratchet watched this exchange, smiling. But without warning, his smile faded into a frown. He looked closely at Arcee, then at Miracle. The two femmes, minus colour, looked almost identical. He noted that Miracles armour was sharper than Arcee's but it stuck out in all of the right places. Different scenarios played inside his processor. Was Miracle a clone? Probably not. She was too compassionate to be a Decepticon in disguise, so that was out too. But the only other option was...Ratchet decided to ask Arcee first before jumping to conclusions.

"What's your name doc?"

"Don't call me doc. My name is Ratchet." Miracle looked curiously to Arcee and whispered something in her audio receptor. She laughed and whispered something back. Miracle laughed along with Arcee. They had the same laugh. Ratchet placed a hand on Miracle's shoulder.

"Miracle, why don't you go and introduce yourself to the rest of the team? I am sure they are curious about you." Once again, Miracle looked at Arcee. It seemed to Ratchet that she had imprinted on Arcee, like how a human baby would imprint on its parents. Miracle would accept no other maternal figure in the place of Arcee. Arcee nodded to her and helped her off the berth. Miracle opened the door with her left arm and walked to the main room.

Arcee was about to exit the door when Ratchet's arm stopped her.

"Hey! What gives, doc?"

"I said, don't call me doc! And before you leave, is there something you'd like to tell me in private?"

Arcee stopped trying to escape and froze. The time she left Miracle on that old bot's doorstep played on repeat in her processor. Ratchet noticed this right away and led her back onto the berth in fear that she would collapse.

"Arcee?" he tried. Her helm snapped to face his, and only then did he realize that she was crying. "Oh Arcee, what is with the tears?" More tears fell.

"I-I...I can't tell you. I can't t-tell her."

"Tell us what?" Arcee's face was hidden by her hands. Her shoulder's shook with sobs and her winglets drooped towards the floor. Arcee knew that she wasn't going to leave this room without spilling something. So, she decided to tell him everything.

She told Ratchet how after Tailgate's death she'd gone on the run. She told him how Miracle was created, and sadly, she told him of her decision to leave her on that old bot's doorstep.

"Did you give her the pendant as well?" Ratchet asked delicately. Arcee nodded.

"I had hoped that she would've held on to that as a reminder of the love I had...have for her. But-"

"No buts. I know love when I see it Arcee. And Miracle adores you. If not as her mother, then as a friend or guardian. I can tell, however, that she has imprinted on you. Her love for you is the same as Jack loves his mother; unconditionally. Don't let her slip away again." Arcee was on the verge of tears, but they were not sad, they were happy, and she let them roll down her silver cheeks. She wanted to express how much gratitude she had for Ratchet, yet all she could form was a meek, "Thank you."

"It is my pleasure. And I must add Arcee, she is beautiful. She is lucky to have a mother like you."

"Ok, Ratchet. You have to stop making me cry. I do have a reputation to uphold," she teased. Ratchet, surprisingly, laughed as well. The atmosphere suddenly became serious when Arcee asked, "Should I tell her?"

Ratchet didn't know what to say. "I believe that it is entirely up to you Arcee. If you wish to tell her, I will not stop you. However, if you wish to keep it a secret as well, that is also your choosing." Arcee nodded thoughtfully. Ratchet opened the door and the two made their way into the main room.

Arcee instantly spotted Miracle playing with Bumblebee, to the best of her ability with only one arm, on the floor. She seemed to be tickling the young scout. And Arcee couldn't find any form of fakery from Bumblebee, so he was actually laughing with aft off. Everybody was watching the exchange and giggling, even Prime! Miracle had obviously met the humans as well, as they were cheering her on and calling her by name. A motherly smile crept across Arcee's faceplate. She still couldn't wrap her helm around the fact that her long lost daughter was here, with the rest of her family! It was too good to be true. Arcee was certain to exploit this opportunity to spend time with her daughter. And she promised that she would never again let her slip away.

XXX

After the excitement of Miracle and Bumblebee's tickle fight, it had worn out everybody. Noticing that it was late, Optimus sent Bulkhead to drive the children home. During that time, Ratchet had set up quarters for Miracle. It wasn't much to write about, but it was hers, and Miracle didn't complain, so he assumed that everything was alright.

At about 2:00 in the morning, Miracle started tossing and turning. Maybe it was the room, maybe it was the bed, but she woke up screaming. Unfortunately, no one heard her. She trembled and cried her little optics out. Miracle tries desperately to stop, but they just kept coming. She knew that she had to talk to someone.

Sliding off of the berth, she wandered out into the dark hallway, praying to find a door. After about a minutes of wandering blindly, her hands brushed up against a doorknob. She coughed, choked back a sob and entered.

The room was identical to hers, but with a larger berth and a soft green light reflecting off various metal surfaces, including the blue and pink bot sleeping on the berth. Miracle quieted her sobs some and crept up to the berth. Gently she shook Arcee. Nothing happened. She shook her again, a little harder. Arcee's optics flew open and she sat up quickly. That startled Miracle and she cried louder.

Once she got her bearings and saw that there was no threat, she looked down at Miracle and noticed that she'd scared her. She cooed softly and reached down to pick her up. Miracle immediately wrapped her legs around Arcee's torso and sobbed.

Arcee felt horrible, she had frightened her own daughter to tears. She stroked her back, knowing that was her favourite, and whispered some words of comfort.

"Miracle, what happened, why are you crying?"

"I saw him...in my dream. I couldn't do anything about it! Then...you died too and…" she didn't finish, but the blue femme knew what she meant. She was slightly honoured to have someone dream about her, but that wasn't going to help Miracle.

"Would you like to sleep here tonight?" Arcee asked quietly. Miracle rubbed her optics and nodded.

Carrying her with one arm, Arcee laid her down on the other side of the berth and pulled up the quilt she'd found on the side of the road one day. Arcee had since washed it, and now it was a beautiful collage of greens, purples, yellows, pinks and blues. Miracle snuggled close to Arcee and rested her helm on her chestplate, like a sparkling would do listening to their mother's spark. It seemed to calm her down, but Arcee noticed some lingering tension in her body.

Then, Arcee remembered a lullaby from a movie the kids watch all the time. The language was unfamiliar, but the melody flowed like water. Wrapping her arms around her daughter, Arcee sang.

A naoidhean bhig, cluinn mo ghuth  
Mise ri d' thaobh, O mhaighdean bhàn  
Ar rìbhinn òg, fàs a's faic  
Do thìr, dìleas féin  
A ghrian a's a ghealach, stiùir sinn  
Gu uair ar cliù 's ar glòir  
Naoidhean bhig, ar rìbhinn òg  
Maighdean uasal bhàn

Within no time, Miracle was asleep, breathing in a slow rhythm. Even though Arcee knew that Miracle was asleep, she caressed her back and winglets, assuring her that she was still here and would do anything to make her feel comfortable.

After a while, Arcee's optic lids felt heavy. The calming aura Miracle was emitting was contagious. She laid her helm down on the pillow, staring at Miracle. Her still features looked so peaceful compared to the crying she was doing an hour or so prior. But Arcee wasn't bothered or annoyed when Miracle cried because when she cried, she was reminded of Miracle's birth and the joy she felt when she first laid optics on the little miracle (hee hee). It reminded her of the fact that she even had a daughter, and how blessed she was that it was Miracle.

XXX

 **Meh, not bad. I tried fluff, family shizzle and other stuff. Tell me what you think!**

 **Till next time y'all!**


	3. Chapter 3

**When was the last time I updated this? Like, November? I'm so sorry guys, but you know how it is. Y'all better be thankful, I'm typing this up on my smart phone… And I'm sure you know that's no easy feat…**

 **To Lilth Ralston:** **I got Airreon Princess from a fanfiction I read a long time ago. Arcee was called Airreon and I guess the name just stuck. The Princess part is just me being a 5 year old at heart! Hope that answered your question! :)**

 **Now, enjoy this long overdue chapter!**

XXX

Miracle yawned. Sunlight gleamed on her face, bringing out her young but beautiful metallic features. She snuggled closer to the warmth beside her, resting her helm near the warmest part. A pair of arms wrapped around her frame, bringing her closer. Miracle grinned and looked up into the blue and lavender optics that were so similar to hers.

"Morning," Arcee said softly.

"Morning," Miracle replied.

The two were silent. Neither knew what to say. After all, they've never been in this situation before. And neither wanted to leave either.

Arcee looked deep into Miracle's young, beautiful optics, feeling as though she was looking into her daughter's very soul. Arcee hoped that she could do this more often, just spending time together in silence. It was so peaceful.

"So...Miracle," Arcee asked, "Can you tell me more about yourself?" Miracle peered up into Arcee's optics and sat up.

"Well," she started, pulling the quilt up to her chin, "I was left on father's doorstep when I was only two weeks old. He told me that part. He also told me he didn't know who left me there, but he did see someone in the bushes leave when he picked me up. He thought it was my mommy." Arcee's optics widened slightly. She didn't know she had been seen.

"He was always very nice to me. He bought me things...beautiful things to keep me happy. He taught me how to walk, talk, and taught me the history of Cybertron. I-I loved him…" Miracle's expressive blue and lavender optics sparkled with tears. She wiped them away quickly, attempting to look strong. _She must've gotten that up from me,_ Arcee thought.

"When he called you guys we had just escaped from a shuttle or something. He protected me as best he could, but my arm ended up being torn. He was worse though. A piece of metal stabbed through his spark. There was so much energon…" Tears fell freely now; her voice was shaking.

"He told me he would be alright...but he l-lied to me…! I was s-so scared! I want him back Arcee!" Miracle allowed herself to be gathered up into Arcee's strong arms. "Please! B-bring him baaaack!"

Arcee gently shushed her, rocking her in her arms back and forth. She was small for a 500 year old, but much smarter than the average sparkling. Arcee could see clearly that she was depressed, no matter how much she hid it from the team yesterday. And on top of that, Arcee was lying to her too! _Is this what Miracle is going to do when I tell her?_ Arcee thought. _Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it._ Nonetheless she was determined to help Miracle.

"Shhhhh, it's ok Miracle, I'm here, I'm here. You wanna pretend that I'm father? I think it'll make you feel better." Miracle looked up.

"Well...he was black and white. You're not black and white…"

"No, I'm not. Just pretend that father painted himself blue." Miracle giggled. Arcee was relieved that she was feeling better.

"Father doesn't like the colour blue. He says that blue is for energon...that's it," Miracle explained with a low voice. She snickered as she thought that Arcee was crazy. Arcee smiled and tapped her chin.

"Fine. Just come find me whenever you feel lonely or scared ok? I'll always be here for you."

"I know. Thanks Arcee."

"Anytime."

There was a slightly awkward silence after that. Miracle was looking at Arcee expectantly, bright optics and a shy smile. Arcee just looked back getting lost into the beautiful abyss of Miracle's optics.

Without warning, Ratchet pushed open the door frantically. Both girls screamed, Arcee reflectively clinging to her daughter tighter. Ratchet let go of the door handle and sighed.

"Primus young lady...you scared me...you were not in your room and I thought that you had run away," Ratchet panted. Miracle stared at him with wide optics.

"The room is scary."

"How so?"

"It's too...dark...and dull. It scares me," Miracle stated, shivering. Arcee wrapped her arms around her tighter. "It kinda reminds me of Cybertron...and how it was dead. It…" she glanced up at Ratchet innocently, "it's scary."

Ratchet felt bad for Miracle. She's been through so much in a short amount of time. It was an extraordinary feat, especially for someone so young. But then again, this was Arcee's daughter...so it was in her nature to be fearless.

But she would keep slipping out of her room if the room stayed the same. Ratchet looked at Arcee over Miracle's helm, only to see her looking back at him then motion to her with her optics. Ratchet got the hint.

"I should get going, you two. Lots of work to do…" Ratchet slipped out of Arcee's room and closed the door gently behind him.

"Hey, Miracle," Arcee said. Miracle scrambled out of her arms, took the quilt and wrapped it around herself.

"Yeah?" Arcee chuckled. There was still some innocence left in her daughter.

"I had an idea. How about just you and me go shopping for stuff to make your room less scary ok? And maybe even a treat...if you're good." Miracle's optics popped out of their sockets and her mouth broke out into a huge grin that spread from ear to ear. She nodded eagerly. But then she stopped.

"What about the other humans? It would be a little weird to have two giant robots walking down the street...right?"

"Yes, but I think Ratchet might have a solution to that. Follow me."

Arcee got up off the berth and stretched. Miracle stood up on the berth and stretched too. She then bent her knees, swung her arms back, and then leapt onto Arcee's back, managing to get a hold of her winglets. Miracle laughed with delight. Arcee laughed too and pretended not to notice as she opened the door and walked down the hallway with Miracle still clinging to her back. The two passed Bulkhead on the way, who just looked at the two girls peculiarly. But he considered the stranger things he'd seen and carried on.

When the pair reached the main room they headed straight for Ratchet. The medic looked up from the large microscope and gave Arcee the look that Bulkhead gave her. Miracle poked her helm out from behind Arcee's shoulder, beaming. Ratchet scoffed and rolled his optics with only a hint of a smile at the hilarity of the small femme.

"What can I do for you two?"

"Have you completed the holoforms?"

"As a matter of fact, I have! For you and the spider monkey," Miracle giggled, "Please follow me."

He led them to a room not far off of the main room. In the room, there were 6 different 45x25 foot tubes. Each housed a strange looking thing resembling a human form, yet they had no facial or exterior details and the skin was white. The bodies were genderless.

"Behold my latest creations! In short, these bodies will serve as our human identities when we must attend a government meeting or simply to blend in with the humans if the situation is right. The subconscious will enter these bodies and fuse with the artificial brain, nervous, and all other functions to basically allow full control of these bodies until the mind is put back into its natural body. They are able to eat, sleep, cry, and so on. They are customizable, but the body will automatically generate suggestions based on your cybertronian attributes. You can choose these or decide on something completely different. You may choose your different skin tones, hair colour, clothing, etcetera. Now, any questions?"

Arcee and Miracle exchanged glances. Miracle raised her hand.

"Yes Miracle?"

"When can we get started?"

XXX

 **Honestly, I don't think that was worth it. Sorry guys, I wanted to just get a chapter up before you all kill me. I can't say that the next one will be up any sooner, but I promise I'll try. Bear with me here!**

 **Reviews are appreciated! It always makes me smile :)**

 **Until next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Hope you're all enjoying spring break so far! Today's a slow day for me, so I decided to sit down and do something productive. We'll see how this goes…**

XXX

Arcee helped Miracle into her tube by picking her up at the armpits. Once she was secure, Arcee stepped back. Ratchet inputted a line of data into the tube's controls, then the transparent door closed abruptly, causing Miracle to panic slightly. She stared with wide optics at Arcee, who gave her a reassuring nod and a smile.

Miracle felt some wires come and attach to her helm. She looked down at the blank slate of a body that also had a connection of wires to its cranium. Ratchet finished typing.

"Alright Miracle. So what is going to happen is you are going to fall asleep for a few moments, and then wake up in the new body, ok? That's all you have to do." Miracle nodded slowly.

"And the body will look like me when I wake up?"

"In a sorts, yes. Arcee will join you once you are 'human.'" She nodded again.

"Do it," Miracle said with a steely voice. Ratchet pulled down a lever similar to the groundbridge. Miracle's optics grew unfocused and finally closed. Arcee tensed. Ratchet noticed this out of the corner of his optic.

"Arcee," he called, "You have nothing to worry about...she's perfectly safe." Arcee let out the breath she'd been holding.

"I know. It's just hard seeing her in distress. I mean, she's my little girl, I don't want anything to hurt her...she's all I got." Arcee wiped her misty optics and shook her helm clear. Ratchet placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. He hated seeing Arcee upset. She was like his daughter; he would do anything for the ones he loved.

Suddenly, the body in Miracle's tube started to glow softly. The two Cybertronians looked at the body as it opened its eyes and looked around curiously. Arcee stepped forward.

"Miracle?" she asked. The little girl smiled.

"The one and only."

XXX

A short time later, Arcee went through the same process as her daughter. Though Ratchet knew little about humans, he could definitely tell that these two girls were related.

Arcee's holoform was beautiful. It had bright blue eyes, a little nose and full pink lips. The face was perfectly round, long, and smooth, with high cheekbones and a flawless pale complexion. She was wearing a little bit of blue eyeshadow and mascara. Her hair was brown and cut just above her shoulders. The body was about 5"7 and perfectly proportioned. She had athletic arms and legs, but a curvy waist and wide hips. She was wearing a simple cobalt blue t-shirt with pink trim around the rounded neckline and the bottom of the sleeves and black jeans with black riding boots. Overall, Arcee was gorgeous.

Miracle was one of the cutest little girls you've ever seen. She had light blue-ish eyes with speckles of lavender in them. She had a cute button nose and little pink lips. Her face was round but elegant and smooth. She had plump cheeks, like all 5 year olds have with many freckles on her nose and cheeks. Her complexion was pale and two little dimples appeared when she smiled. Her bangs and long flowing hair were a light brown. She wore a small purple barrette to keep a pesky strand of hair behind her ear. She stood only 2"9 feet tall. Miracle chose a pink flowered shirt with a purple sweater. She also wore light blue jeans and purple sandals with little plastic jewels. Miracle frowned.

"What's wrong Miracle?" asked Arcee.

"It's missing something…" she trailed off. With a flicker, a small golden tiara appeared on her head with a pink jewel in the middle.

"There," she smiled, "Perfect!"

Arcee laughed out loud. There was no denying that this little girl took after her 100%. From her mere looks, to her sarcastic wit ( **A/N: Right JayBeeZZ? Remind you of someone?** ) and steely determination.

Miracle ran up to Arcee who scooped down and caught the girl in her arms. Ratchet tried to hide a smile of pride. Arcee looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"I saw that tough guy."

"Me too!" Miracle added. Arcee looked at the girl then back at Ratchet.

"Question though, Ratch. What about all the legalities? I mean, wouldn't we need 'proof' that we're actually citizens of the United States?" Ratchet grinned.

"Well, it is a good thing that I called in some legal help."

The two girls quirked an eyebrow when the door opened. In walked the one and only Agent William Fowler carrying two government files. The man stopped in his tracks when he laid eyes on Arcee and Miracle. He looked up at Ratchet.

"And...who are these again? I don't remember having another kid at the base…"

"Agent Fowler," Arcee said, placing Miracle on the ground, "This is Miracle. We found her yesterday with another bot...unfortunately he didn't make it, but we were able to send her through the groundbridge to help fix her arm. Since she doesn't have any family left, like the rest of us, for that matter, I've stepped in to be somewhat of a maternal figure to her. We were going to go out-"

"-shopping. I'm fully aware of that Arcee. The doc filled me in before I got here."

"Don't call me doc," Ratchet grumbled under his breath.

"Anyways, I took the liberty of making some fake ids for you two. Everything checks out, but we still need some names for y'all." Fowler handed the files to Arcee. Inside her's there was a driver's license with everything included except a name, birth certificate and records. Also a credit card courtesy of the United States government. Inside Miracle's there were birth records and a certificate.

"That credit card comes with a limit of ten thousand dollars, so don't over do that please. Not that I expect you to anyways…"

"Thank you Agent Fowler. You're very kind."

"No problem Arcee. Just doing my job. Now you and the kid have fun. I'm needed back at the Pentagon. Have a good day, soldier."

"You too Fowler." He disappeared behind the door. Ratchet left as well, leaving the two girls in the room.

"Well, I know what my name is going to be, but what do you want yours to be Miracle?" she shrugged her little shoulders.

"I don't know many earth names. Can you choose?" Arcee nodded and smiled. _Anything for you sweetspark._

"How about...Lucy? I've always loved to name. If I was human and was a daughter, I'd name her Lucy."

"Ok," Miracle, or Lucy, said, "What's your name?"

"My name is Constance. My friends call me Cee."

XXX

 **Aaaaaaand that's all you're going to get for now. Sorry, but I felt that this was going nowhere fast. I'll continue with the next chapter as soon as possible, I promise. But I'm going away for the next few days so it won't be anytime soon.**

 **You know the drill, rate and review guys! I always love hearing what you have to say!**


	5. Chapter 5

**...I have no excuses. Sorry everybody, writer's block, you know how it is. Originally, I had this chapter almost finished but it was horrible quality, so down the drain it went and I started fresh.**

 **JBZZ still remember the promise I made you?**

 **Enjoy.**

 **XXX**

"Ok, paint, wall stickers, curtains...are we missing anything?" Arcee listed off as the items were scanned by the man behind the counter at the small home renovation and garden store in Jasper's downtown area. Not that it was anything special. Now, downtown Iacon was a sight to see before the Decepticons attacked the sparkling city late into the war. Arcee lived there as a sparkling but moved to Vos for her father's job. She still had a few holo-images, highly degraded, of her old home and her parents.

Arcee sighed happily, remembering the small condo-like dwelling with a magnificent organic-looking tree with drawings carved into the shining metal. The house was of a blue tint, with a white roof and a white fence that, at the time, Arcee couldn't reach the top of. The steel beneath their pedes was a reflective grey, the same basic colour as the rest of the neighbourhood. She recalled looking into the grey abyss and being fascinated that somehow the sun was in the ground and that she was suddenly bigger than it. Before Miracle was born, Arcee went back to the house and witnessed it as a dull pile of grey mush. The sun was no longer visible in the matte grey ground.

The man behind the counter cleared his throat, abruptly snapping the femme out of her daydream.

"Sorry," she apologized. The man, Jay according to his nametag, smiled and shook his head.

"Nah it's ok. Happens to me all the time. Especially when I'm writing."

"Ah," Arcee acknowledged absentmindedly. She went to go pat Miracle's head, but when she placed her hand down by her side, her hand met no resistance and slid through the air. That was enough to truly snap her out of her daze.

"Lucy?" she called worriedly. "Lucy?!" Arcee frantically looked behind her at the other rows of aisles and left to right in desperate hopes of finding her daughter. Arcee was about to run past the less-than-patient people being held up in the line behind her when she heard a soft giggle. She spun around in a frenzy only to see the man behind the counter. Arcee snapped and pointed an accusing finger at the cashier.

"Why are you laughing? I've lost my dau-um...niece. And you think it's _funny?_ I could be _disowned_ by her mother!" Jay started to splutter an apology.

"I-I'm so sorry ma'am...b-but that w-wasn't me!" Arcee's eyes widened and she stepped back slowly. She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Then who was it?"

"BOO!"

Miracle's head popped up from beside the man over the counter. She giggled once more and popped back down. Arcee let out the breath she hadn't realized that she'd been holding and allowed a faint smile to grace her across her face. She called for Miracle to come beside her and then payed for the supplies with the credit card she received from Agent Fowler, and to an extent the US government. Miracle went to reach for the bag containing the paint, but Arcee quickly stopped her and grabbed the bags. They waved goodbye to the cashier and welcomed the cool breeze courtesy of the air conditioner between the doors. Once the two robots in disguise cleared the automatic doors, Arcee dropped the bags and lowered herself to Miracle's eye level.

"Do you know how worried I was?" Arcee demanded grabbing Miracle's shoulders and giving them a gentle shake to accentuate her point. Miracle didn't have a chance to answer before Arcee pulled her into a big hug, pressing her head into her shoulder as if protecting her from the cold. She remembered doing this to her after she was born.

"Don't you ever do that again! I thought that someone had gotten to you! Primus, what if somebody kidnapped you? I couldn't live with myself if you disappeared!" Arcee shouted, not caring who heard as she held Miracle tight. Miracle leaned into her embrace, clearly still not fully recovered from her traumatic experience where her guardian died right before her eyes.

Just like Tailgate's death.

 _That_ halted Arcee's rambling tongue. The way Arcee felt all of those years ago when Tailgate was slaughtered right before her optics was the way that Miracle was feeling at that very moment. Arcee didn't want her one and only daughter to go through the unbearable guilt of not being fast enough or not being able to do anything, plus more than a few angry rampages. The one thing Arcee always wanted back then, whether she would admit it or not, was someone to hold her when she was sad or frustrate or in an rage. When you're positioned in the Delta Team, there was no feeling remorse or being distraught. She didn't want to expose Miracle to that.

Arcee pulled away slowly, only to see salty tear streaks running down the poor girl's face. She gently wiped them away, to no avail as more tears started to follow in the others' wakes. Arcee cooed and took a hold of both of her hands.

"Come here," she whispered. Miracle complied instantly when she collapsed onto Arcee's lap, forcing her to sink onto the boiling concrete sidewalk. Not that she cared. She wrapped her strong arms around her long lost daughter. Miracle sobbed into her chest where tear stains were starting to form. The two femmes stayed there for what seemed like an eternity.

After a while, Miracle fell asleep in their shared embrace. Noticing this, Arcee scooped up the small girl with one arm and carried the heavy paint and supplies in the other. She walked slowly and cautiously towards the designated alley where she would contact Ratchet for a groundbridge pickup. The paint cans were set on the ground and Arcee pulled out her government-issued cell phone from the back pocket of her skinny black jeans. She singlehandedly dialed the base's "number;" a combination of about 30 digits and a few lines of encryption. She told Ratchet that they were finished shopping, and a few moments after the swirling vortex of sea green, blue, and pink opened before her. Just before she stepped in, Arcee gave Miracle one last affectionate squeeze and a kiss on the forehead. Miracle stirred but did not awaken. Grabbing the bags, Arcee strode through the threshold of the groundbridge and disappeared.

 **XXX**

 **Yay this chapter is finally finished! I won't make ANY promises for a quick update because of the long weekend and well...life, but I can promise that I'll try.**

 **Be sure to review, favourite, and follow! It always makes me happy to see your guys' support!**


	6. Chapter 6

Miracle awoke from her recharge cycle late in the morning the next day after she and Arcee had gone out shopping for her bedroom supplies to make it feel more "homey" as Raf described it. And the pair, along with Bulkhead and Bumblebee, quickly completed the work late last night. They had done a stunning job as well. The walls that were once a dull grey were now evenly painted a stunning purple, which was softly illuminated by the nightlight attached to the wall. The walls were also adorned with glow-in-the-dark stars and comets, which also hung from the ceiling above her bed. A large nightstand stood squarely beside her bed with a basic children's lamp on top of it. Otherwise her room was bare, with only a standard bookshelf fit for an Autobot three times her size and a desk she saw _no_ point in using.

The young femme stretched, her soft purple armor clicking into place after a good night's rest. Miracle, thankfully, found it much easier to sleep in her own room. Not that Arcee complained having a plus one in her berth, but Miracle could tell that the femme was growing more tired during the day when she stayed up later to ensure that she was sound asleep. She had even seen the blue warrior nod off during a mission briefing. Ratchet had none too gently shaken her awake. He seemed to be the father, or dare she say, _grandfather_ of the team. It was the same way her adoptive father looked at her before she came to earth.

That thought alone caused her optics to mist with lubricant. She should be stronger than this! How would the big, strong, adult warriors see her like this? Optimus, she was sure, would give her one of his infamous disappointing side glances. Miracle had seen them before. Yes, it was better than a lecture from his or Ratchet, but is gave you a feeling of guilt so strong, it would make a Wrecker apologize for setting a mealy bath bomb off in the tub. She felt horrible, crying at the mere mention of her father. She was weak, a child. She needed to learn how to be strong. And what better way to do that than learning from her friends, tough Autobot warriors!

Miracle hopped off her berth and made her way down the hall towards the command centre. The only ones who might be awake are Ratchet and Optimus, both of whom started their endless "work" incredibly early in the morning. The femme wondered what they could do for every waking minute of the day. Planning battle strategies, maybe. Possibly creating an antidote for the Cybonic Plague. Who knows? They could be contacting an Autobot spy on the other side. Anything could happen.

However, as she turned the final corner to enter the command centre, she found everybody present and accounted for. Even all 5 humans were there, listening intently to a speech made by Optimus. His baritone voice rumbled with authority that captured the attention of the young femme.

"ーand we must take every precaution. The Decepticons are notorious for their prolonged and tireless defense. In order to achieve this objective, we must all work proficiently. I believe in my spark that we will cause significant damage to the Decepticon ranks. Autobots...we depart in 5 minutes. Dismissed." With that, all of the Autobots dispersed. Bulkhead and Bumblebee headed towards the armory, Miracle guessed, while Ratchet and Optimus began a hushed conversation in the med-bay. Arcee moved to speak with Jack and June; Raf and Miko simply turned to play the pixelated racing game that so easily consumed hours at a time. Agent Fowler entered the express elevator and quickly disappeared onto the roof. The sound of helicopter blades spinning confirmed that he was going back to his own base of operations. As of yet, no one had noticed her. At least, that's what she thought.

"Miracle," Optimus' voice called. Miracle's head spun to see the Autobot leader gesturing her forward. She respectfully looked at the ground and approached. He kneeled in front of her. She expected to be lectured or spoken to, but his topic of conversation surprised her.

"How was your sleep?" he asked sincerely. Miracle's brow furrowed for only a moment.

"Fine," she responded plainly. He gave a short pause, looking her up and down.

"Something is troubling you." The phrase was not a question. The purple femme stared unbelievingly into his kind, compassionate, and sad optics. How did he know?

"Yes. My father...I miss him. A lot." A lubricant tear slid down her smooth cheek almost imperceptibly. He gently wiped it away with his massive finger. The gesture was caring, yet his face did not betray the stoic personality he was known for.

"I understand. Unfortunately, such losses are common in war. We must learn to accept and move on. I do realize that you are young, naive, but I sense a great potential for compassion inside of you. A trait that is lost on many beings throughout the universe. A trait that can be your greatest asset in a time of need." He winked at her and straightened up and left the young girl with her thoughts. She could've sworn she saw a hint of a smile when he winked…

Miracle shook her head gently and glanced around the room. Her gaze landed on Arcee, Jack, and June. The three seemed to be having a normal conversation until Arcee apologized and held her helm between her servos. Jack placed a comforting hand on her blue helmet and said something to her that Miracle couldn't make out from far away. Arcee rubbed her helm slowly as she looked up and resumed her conversation with her partner and his mother. The purple femme suddenly felt a pang of guilt course through her systems. Arcee was exhausted from staying up night after night until early in the morning. True, Cybertronians didn't require sleep the same way that humans did, but a good power down was needed to refresh the systems and reboot the mind when a Cybertronian felt sluggish or slow. However, powering down wasn't a necessity every night. But when a Cybertronian didn't power down well for 3 nights in a row, and had an active lifestyle, then it was reason for concern. The only reason that the blue warrior was exhausted was because Miracle had neglected Arcee's needs and placed them after her own. How selfish could she be? She saw a movement out of the corner of her optic; Arcee was looking at her with a blank expression. The mother and daughter locked optics with each other. Miracle tried to look as apologetic as possible. Arcee, in her half-dazed state, didn't notice and only continued to blink slowly.

"Autobots," Optimus said when Bulkhead and Bumblebee reappeared. Miracle broke eye contact with Arcee and gazed at the floor.

"Roll out."

4 engines revved and drove through the swirling green, white, and purple vortex. What anyone failed to notice is that Miko had somehow ran towards the groundbridge, making a beeline for the centre. Miracle was old enough to know that is was dangerous for anyone to be out on the battlefield, especially the humans, but she also wanted desperately to make amends with Arcee; apologize for her wrongdoing. So against her better judgement, Miracle silently ran after her, and made it through the vortex right before it closed.

 **XXX**

 **Yeah, so...haven't updated this story since October. Sorry guys. But at least this week is the march break, so the cliffhanger will be (hopefully) resolved soon. The more reviews I get on this chapter, the faster I'll update. I promise :)**


	7. Chapter 7

When Arcee exited the groundbridge, it was an immediate ambush. Red-hot blasts of energon whizzed past the warrior as she quickly found an adequate cover. She waited for a break in the fire before starting a counter-attack of her own, accompanied by her fellow Autobots who had also found cover. To her satisfaction, the Decepticon drones fell one by one, either dead or knocked unconscious by the energon barrage. The groundbridge finally closed behind them. She wondered how many shot had been shot through the swirling vortex. Hopefully Miracle was in a safe place back at the base.

However, unknown to anyone, Miracle was currently watching the battle from a covered position of her own, Miko hiding not too far from her, her trusty pink flip phone in-hand. She knew it was wrong to sneak into a groundbridge, especially when the groundbridge led to...where _were_ they exactly? Miracle observed their surroundings. Scarred black metal was the most prominent detail she could notice. A few red lights also dimly lit the surroundings, although they were not needed as it was daytime. Wait, there were no trees casting patterns all over the equally scarred metal flooring. In fact, they only things that lay above her helm were... _clouds._ They were on the _Nemesis_!

Panic gripped her insides. Why in Primus' name was the team on the Decepticon warship? Miracle thought for a moment. The only explanation her young brain could come up with was energon raid, but that didn't necessarily require that they be on the _Nemesis._ Unless...they were planning a large attack on the Decepticon ranks. That was crazy, she reasoned with herself, Optimus wouldn't lead the team on a direct assault, would he? However, Miracle had noticed a shift in the behavior of Optimus recently. He was becoming more desperate. Was that because of her as well? Maybe he wanted to end the war quickly in order to give her, and his family, a better life where they didn't have to constantly be checking over their shoulder for an attack. Perhaps he saw her as a symbol of what the new generation could be. Happy, innocent, full of life and laughter. Was she the cause of this particular heated onslaught between the two factions?

 _Great,_ now Miracle had two things to apologize for.

Miracle watched one Autobot in particular, Arcee, who she still had to apologize to, run from her cover to Dreadwing, who was distracted for the moment. Arcee drew her blades and let out a furious battle cry before using gravity to her advantage by bringing herself on top of the blue and yellow seeker. She was quickly thrown off of his back, but she landed perfectly. He drew his own blade, three times as long as Miracle's whole body, and beckoned Arcee forward. She glared at him for only a moment before running up to him. The warrior's daughter watched in horror as Dreadwing and Arcee clashed their resective blades against each other. Arcee slid between the seekers legs and delivered a fast leg sweep, effectively slamming Dreadwing onto his wings. Miracle saw that they had bent inwards slightly. Arcee wasted no time and jumped on him to bring a ruthless barrage of punches to his faceplate. Dreadwing, however, managed to get one of his hands free and push her off, ready for round two. Miracle couldn't watch any longer and shifted her gaze to the extravagant black and pink-haired teen.

Miko, still recording the battle from a safe distance, moved closer to the action, specifically Bulkhead taking on 10 drones at a time with nothing but his bare hands. Miracle tentatively followed. Miko almost expertly weaved in and out of the fallen drones, even going as far as hiding behind a dead drone as Bumblebee ran past to fire at drones from afar. Miracle tried to copy the same moves with much less grace and professionalism. But nonetheless she made it to the other side of the flightdeck. As of the moment, there were about one hundred dead drones littering the ground, with more bound to join their brethren. The sun beat down on the bodies, making them scalding hot to the touch. Miracle ran by Miko's side. She fully expected the girl to be surprised that she had followed her in, but Miko's reaction was far from that.

"Enjoying the show?" she asked casually. She let out a quiet _whoop_ when Bulkhead bashed two drones' heads together, killing them both instantly. Miracle felt bad for them for a second. But then she remembered that they had killed her father. Miracle looked back to Miko.

"You really shouldn't sneak into battles. You could get hurt."

"Yeah I know," Miko replied, eyes glued to the attack, "But that what makes it fun." Miracle couldn't understand where the teen was coming from. Fun was playing in the park. Fun was reading a story with your family. Fun was tickling Bumblebee until he surrendered for mercy. Putting your life in danger wasn't fun. It was reckless, stupid even. Miko suddenly turned and looked at the femme who was only an inch taller than her.

"If you think that coming to these things are dangerous, why are you here?" Miracle felt like she had gotten caught.

"I...I have to apologize to Arcee. And Optimus too. I made them both not happy with me. I need to fix it."

"So you chose the battlefield?"

"Hey, you're one to talk. You come here for fun! I came here to apologize! It's different." Miko rolled her eyes.

"Not really."

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is一" Miracle suddenly screamed and a hand came down to try and grab her and Miko. She managed to run out of the way after she pushed Miko the opposite way. The 'con was none other than Knockout, the one who likes to strap down innocent subjects in his medical bay and run experiments to combat frequent boredom.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" he asked in a threatening manner. "One of the Autobots pets, I'm sure. But you…" he made another grab for Miracle but she just hid behind the black metal pole.

"I've haven't seen a live sparkling in years! You'll make an excellent test subject." Miracle was terrified! She ran into the heat of the battle, not caring what she had to do to get away from the crazy doctor slowly walking towards her. When she finally reached the opposite wall on the other side of the battlefield, Miracle started to cry and screamed the first name that came to her head.

" _Arcee! Help!_ "

In her half dazed state, Arcee heard the cry of her daughter. She immediately shot several rounds at Dreadwing, who was knocked unconscious. She sprinted with a limp to where she saw a gleam of purple armor behind Knockout's frame. Once she got closer, she saw Miracle pressed up tightly against the the wall, trying desperately to get away from Knockout's outstretched hand. Maternal instincts kicked in once more and Arcee lept between Miracle and Knockout.

"Arcee! Pleasure seeing you here," he chided arrogantly before taking a swipe at her shoulder. It connected, spinning her around and onto the ground. Before she could stand up, his foot came crashing down onto her helm, hard. Arcee groaned and struggled to get up. Her body was covered in small slash marks, cuts and bruises, and she was fairly sure that her leg was broken. She also now had a sizeable dent in the back of her helm. Miracle cried but was frozen with fear.

Knockout grinded his heel into the dent more. Sparks began to fly from it. Arcee began to lose consciousness. Miracle took a brave step forward and collapsed by her damaged helm. She wept on her knees. Arcee glanced up slowly and saw the tears cascading down her face. She managed to throw Knockout off of her and toss him a good distance away from the pair. She stood cautiously while swaying side to side. Miracle wiped her tears and ran up to hug Arcee. Arcee gasped in pain but hugged her lightly back. When Miracle pulled away, she gazed apologetically into the older femme's optics.

"I'm so sorry, Arcee. I didn't mean to make you tired." Arcee cooed.

"I-it's ok...Miracle. I would like a-a nap...after this though," Arcee chuckled weakly while rubbing the back of her helm tentatively.

"Why did you sneak in the groundbridge? Do you know how dangerous that was?!" Arcee yelled loudly. Miracle looked down at the ground possessing no answer. Arcee did the same. The two just stood there, unaware of their surroundings. That proved to be their undoing.

Out of the corner of her optic, Miracle saw a red glint move towards her as quick as a lightning bolt. She had just enough time to scream, "Arcee!"

The femme in question immediately spun around to protect Miracle, her own body covering the younger femme's. Arcee's optics widened to epic proportions.

She was instantly impaled with a long shard of metal. Arcee looked down slowly to the shard stuck through her stomach. The femme started shaking noticeably. She swallowed hard before staring at her assailant, Knockout. He just grinned before violently ripping out the shard.

Time moved in slow motion. Knockout's armor chipped as a blue energon bolt cracked against him helmet, rendering him face-down. Arcee stumbled backwards in front of Miracle and began to fall. In order to not fall on top of her daughter, with the last of her strength Arcee turned her body and just missed Miracle. Miracle wailed as her spark broke at the sight of her fallen guardian and friend. It felt like half of her spark was being dragged away into the abyss of the embrace of death. She had no clue why this feeling was persistent, but she did know it couldn't even compare to the pain that Arcee was in.

Arcee laid on the ground, lifeless. She could faintly hear the sound of crying. Her vision blurred. Her helm swam. The world was spinning on its axis too fast. However, she could feel her lifeblood pulsing out of her at an alarming rate. The sticky substance provided a sick sense of warmth when it pooled around her. She felt her spark being dragged away from reality and suddenly found herself in the dark.

When Optimus arrived on the scene, Miracle flung herself onto Arcee. Optimus stopped in tracks for only a moment before trying to stem the flow of energon from the gaping hole in Arcee's stomach. The others quickly arrived on the scene, all present drones dead on the floor.

They'd achieved the objective. Not without a cost.

Miracle sobbed hysterically and ran into Bumblebee's outstretched arms. She managed to squeak out a mealy, "It huu-uurts! Bumblebee make it stop!" She was referring to the growing pain in her spark. Bumblebee could do nothing but cradle the young femme who'd just witnessed her friend being stabbed.

"Ratchet," Optimus said into his COMM, "activate the groundbridge and prepare for immediate surgery."

It was at that moment that Arcee's bright optics faded to a gunmetal grey.

 **XXX**

 **Haha! Cliffhanger! You'll just have to wait for the next one! Leave lots of reviews! I love them!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Get her over here, now!" Ratchet barked as soon as he caught a glimpse of the state the blue femme was in. He had set up the gurney and his tools for the surgery to stop the bleeding and close the wound before Arcee died completely. Thank Primus the ghastly wound was in a non-essential area instead of her spark. If it was her spark, Arcee would have died in mere seconds. Bulkhead entered the command centre right after Optimus and Arcee, it was easy to tell that the Wrecker was on edge. He jumped at the smallest noise and when Miko tried to apologize for running into the battle, he huffed and stormed off to his room. The teen knew not to take it personally, he was just mourning. He'd seen a close friend half-die right in front of him after all. Bumblebee and Miracle came through last. The young girl was still sobbing hysterically, claiming that "her spark hurt." When Bumblebee asked what kind of pain it was, she just said "it feels like it's dying." Hopefully when Ratchet was finished, he could take a look at Miracle to see what the matter was. For now, Bumblebee took her to her room where he rocked her gently to sleep as her cries finally exhausted her.

In the meanwhile, Ratchet worked frantically to prevent Arcee from dying. She had not moved since she was placed on the berth, and the old, tired medic began to fear the worst. He wasn't about to give up, however. He couldn't let a child be orphaned if he had anything to say about it. Ratchet's hands were thoroughly soiled in energon and beads of sweat-like lubricant dripped down the sides of his faceplate. The monitor that he'd hooked up to Arcee to register her sparkbeat suddenly dropped significantly and began to flatline.

"No!" Ratchet growled. This couldn't be happening! He welded and welded the wound shut as fast as he could, before calling for Optimus to aid him. Ratchet told the fearless (or so he seemed) leader to administer an energon drip directly into her fading spark. It would be painful when she awoke, but it would have kept her alive. Ratchet helped Optimus insert the line correctly and the two bots prayed to Primus for a simple sound. A beep. There was nothing more to be done if this didn't work. Miracle would forever be an orphan.

The pair waited. Almost a minute after Arcee's monitor flatlined, Ratchet was going to call it. The medic shed a single tear. Not like this, he thought, it can't end for her like this. Optimus placed a hand on Ratchet's shoulder. He gave him a look that clearly read " _you did all you could have._ " Ratchet moved to the computer to enter the time and date of death.

 _Beep._

Ratchet removed his hands from the computer. Had he imagined it? No, he couldn't have. He was sure that he heard the monitor beep. He snuck a glance to Optimus; the leader hadn't moved...so surely it was all in Ratchet's head. He resumed typing in the date and time.

 _Beep._

Now Ratchet had a small pang of hope. Could Arcee still be alive? She was one tough femme, for sure. He turned around and looked at the monitor attached to Arcee's spark.

It was, albeit quietly, registering a sparkbeat.

Ratchet uncharacteristically beamed. Optimus turned to look at the digital screen as well and Ratchet could've sworn that he saw a faint glimpse of a smile cross the leader's face. Ratchet immediately set back to work. He prepared a brace for her broken leg. He knew though that Arcee wasn't going to like it if she survived the night. She would have to use a walking aid for a while before the rod in her leg healed. At least Miracle wouldn't be an orphan. A tear slid down Ratchet's cheek at the happy thought.

It took 7 hours, but Arcee was finally stabilized. Bulkhead and Miko had made up and were currently sitting in the command centre waiting for any news on Arcee. Bumblebee, Raf, Jack, June, and Fowler were also there, waiting patiently for the good doctor and Optimus to deliver any news on her condition. Miracle was also in the waiting room; Bumblebee had taken her from her room a few hours ago and carried her over to wait with everybody, knowing that she by far had the deepest bond to Arcee, for whatever reason. Jack nervously tapped his foot on the cool metal floor, but that was the only other sound present in the mournful environment. In wouldn't be for another hour until Ratchet came out from the curtain erected around the workspace in order to prevent contamination and any distractions. Bulkhead and Miko immediately jumped to alertness, while Jack and June simply looked up. Miracle, who was sleeping soundly in Bumblebee's arms, stirred for only a moment before resuming her sleep.

Ratchet wiped his hands clean with an energon-stained rag before sighing and looking around the room at his team and family.

"Arcee...will survive."

Those three words caused a joyous uproar. The Wreckers whooped and jumped up while giving each other a high-five. June breathed a sigh of relief and Jack put a hand on his chest to still the rapid heartbeat underneath. Fowler wiped his forehead, thankful he didn't have to deliver the bad news to his superiors. Bumblebee let out a gleeful beep and unknowingly hoisted Miracle into the air like some sort of prized trophy for first place. That caused the young girl to wake up with a start and demand she be put down in a childlike seriousness.

Ratchet stared at the little girl, and she stared back. The good doctor knelt down and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Miracle optics glazed over and she started to cry again, softly than the previous time. Ratchet wiped away her tears.

"Arcee is going to be fine," he said tenderly. Miracle nodded and smiled slightly. She suddenly frowned.

"Did...did she die?" Ratchet observed as the happy celebrations halted in their tracks to look at him. He didn't want to tell them all of the details of her ordeal, but Miracle's pleading with her optics made him give in.

"Yes, yes she did. For a few minutes actually," he started. The team all subconsciously drew closer to hear.

"I was about to make a formal death report before her monitor started registering a faint sparkbeat. I was to work quickly, but I believe she'll make a full recovery." Miracle glared at the medic.

"You 'believe' she'll be ok. That doesn't mean you know for sure."

"True, but it is my best guess for the moment. Arcee is the strongest femme I know. Primus, she gave unassisted birth to a sparkling in the middle of a battlefi一" Ratchet slapped a hand over his mouth. She told him that when the time is right, _she'd_ want to tell Miracle. Oh scrap, he thought to himself.

The room exploded. Everybody started asking questions, demanding details he didn't want to provide. Miko yelled for everybody to be quiet.

"Hold on, lemme get this straight...Arcee is a _mom_?!" Miko shrieked, disbelieving eyes wide. Ratchet stumbled with his words for a moment.

"W-why yes, she is Miko. Uh, I found evidence of a previous pregnancy during a monthly physical, and um...when I questioned her about it, well, without many details, uh, she gave birth to a sparkling in the middle of the battlefield. That is all she told me." Ratchet cringed internally, praying that they believe this little white lie he's fabricated. Miko turned to the group. They all turned to look at Ratchet. The tension was so thick that you couldn't cut it with sword.

"Man, that must've hurt," Miko exclaimed finally. Ratchet breathed a sigh of relief, even though it wasn't necessary to Cybertronians to breathe. He'd have to, albeit delicately, inform Arcee of the spilled news when she awoke.

Miracle tapped on Ratchet's metal chin. He glanced down at the purple femme who wrung her hands and swiveled her foot on the concrete floor.

"Ratchet, could I see her? Please," she asked politely. Ratchet nodded and led her to the opaque curtain. Miracle found the opening with little difficulty and suddenly found her optics wet once more. Arcee's lifeless body was lying down on a grey metal cot, many wires of all lengths, colours, and sizes were attached to her frame, registering this and that onto a monitor which gave the room a dull green glow. The space underneath the femme, Miracle could tell, had been covered in energon as there was now a blue stain on the berth. The gaping wound was expertly closed, all that remained was a section of unbuffed metal where she knew a nasty scar would eventually form. Her right leg was in a brace up to the middle of her knee servo. An IV was in progress also, however it was no longer attached to the femme's spark, but it had been moved to an essential vein in her arm. Miracle slowly crept up to Arcee, almost as if she was sleeping soundly and she didn't want to wake her up, and sat on the edge of her berth. Trying to get her to respond, Miracle shook her arm while saying, "Wake up Arcee, Please, wake up." It positively broke Ratchet and Optimus' sparks to see the girl like this. It eerily reminded them of the first day they met Miracle.

Miracle then moved close to her helm. She whispered her words of encouragement into her audio receptor. The good doctor nor the fearless leader could stop her from doing what she had to do. She kissed Arcee on her cheek, a sign of affection she'd picked up from Jack and June, then curled up beside Arcee, hugging her neck.

She shortly fell asleep in that position.

 **XXX**

 **I really hope these back-to-back chapters make up for all of the time that I didn't update at all. I expect more chapter to be up over the March break. Let's aim for one every day but no promises. I know better than to make a crazy deadline like that...again...hehehe :)**

 **Review/favourite/follow please!**


	9. Chapter 9

Miracle awoke in her purple room, the colour on the walls seemed to have faded once again to a dull grey, for that is how Miracle saw the world, grey. It's been 4 days since Arcee got hurt, and Miracle hadn't gone to see her since she fell asleep on the medical berth the day Arcee was brought back to life after being dead for two minutes. Of course, it was all Miracle's fault, at least that's what the girl told herself every waking minute she spent at base. Even her in dreams, she was held responsable for every mishap in the base. Miko's soup was too hot? Miracle set the microwave for too long. Ratchet's tool had disappeared? Well, Miracle put them away. Arcee's fighting for her life? Miracle distracted her. Miracle pushed all of these thoughts to the back of her helm, refusing to feel. She capped the bottle of emotions, just like Arcee, and set off to the command centre.

Everybody was present, save Ratchet and Arcee, of course. She climbed up halfway to the kids' space and sat on the ledge by the medical bay. Arcee had been moved from behind the curtain to a half-completed spare medabay somewhere deep in the base. The kids greeted her. She gave them a half-hearted smile and returned to sulking. Bulkhead and Bumblebee she assumed were on patrol, while Optimus stood at the green-hued monitor, scanning for something Miracle couldn't care less about. Without Arcee, she felt she had no place, no purpose among these amazing people. She loved to follow the older femme around and learn all there was to learn about everything that can be learned. For some reason, the girl felt a deep connection with the femme. When she got hurt, Miracle's spark burned in a way it has never before. It felt like her spark was dying. She had dismissed it as heartbreak after she went to Ratchet once he was done with Arcee. He said the same, but she could've sworn she had heard... _something_ in his voice that begged to say otherwise. Oh well, he had just seen a member of his family die, she could forgive him for any speech impairments.

Optimus glanced to the side and saw the sulking girl deep in thought. He felt for her. Arcee was almost like a mother to Miracle, and to see your maternal figure be stabbed half-dead is traumatizing for a fully grown warrior, let alone an almost 600-year old. Optimus decided to take it upon himself to stand in for Arcee until she got better. It was the least he could do for her.

He approached Miracle quietly. Miracle glanced up at him before turning around with her back facing to him. Optimus sat on the ledge next to her. The size difference between the two were astronomical, Miracle being only a foot taller than Jack. He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Greetings, young one," he rumbled. Miracle gave a meek "hey" in response.

"Would you wish to talk about what is troubling you?"

"Not really." Optimus sighed and removed his hand. It had been a long time since he, albeit anyone has interacted with a Cybertronian so young. He had nearly forgotten how to talk to them. He remembered he had to be simple with his words and calm in his delivery of them. But then again, they did not know how to sit down and have a mature conversation. Sparklings were more hands-on and wanted to move. Miracle had not been doing that much of anything for the past few days. Talking would not help her. She needed someone to play with, if anything.

"Would you like to play a game with me?" Optimus asked. This caught Miracle's attention _very_ quickly.

"Pardon?" Optimus genuinely smiled.

"Would you like to play a game with me?" he repeated. Miracle weighed her two options. Either sit here for the next 8 hours or go play a game with the Autobot leader himself? Her choice was clear.

"No thank you."

"Wrong answer."

She stared at his disbelievingly for all of 3.5 milliseconds before she suddenly felt herself being lifted off the ground and being placed on something rigid and _very_ high off the ground. Miracle clutched onto Optimus' neck as they made their way down to a storage room somewhere deep in the bowels of the base.

To say that Miracle was apprehensive was a gross understatement. This out-of-character behaviour was disconcerting to say the least. She debated placing her hand on his forehead to check for a fever as that was the _sole_ explanation that her underdeveloped cybernetic brain could possibly think of. As much as Miracle was concerned, she was (regretfully) intrigued as to what the Prime was planning. When they passed by the medabay, Miracle could hear various beeps and Ratchet's grumbling. She subconsciously drew closer to the door, causing Optimus to place her back near his shoulder.

They finally reached the room in the bowels of the base and Optimus gently set the young femme down onto the floor. She looked up expectantly at him, wondering what in Primus' name he was thinking. He looked at her plainly.

"I took it upon myself to enliven your current mood by taking part in a human recreational activity called 'tag.' A most peculiar premise, I might add," he explained, "One person dubbed 'it' must chase others in order to pass on the role of 'tagger'. However, information I have received from our three young friends suggests that 'tag' is a suitable pastime for the time being."

Miracle only understood a few words, naturally, but reluctantly accepted in the end. After all, it wasn't every day that you got to play tag with the Autobot leader, now was it? Miracle walked up to his leg calmly before tapping his leg and bolting. Once she was a safe distance away, she cried "You're it!" He smirked and ran after her.

"You do not stand a chance, young one!"

XXX

The pair laughed as Miracle slid out into the hall to evade Optimus who was stomping rather entertaining. She ran to find a good hiding place. By Primus she was _NOT_ getting tickled again. She giggled again just as Optimus reached out for her. He managed to get a digit on the back of her neck which caused a loud, joy-filled screech to come out of Miracle. The stoic Autobot had forgotten what it was like to be in the presence of such innocence, untouched by war. It was a welcome and refreshing experience for the both of them.

All of that was instantly shattered when the girl flew into the first door she saw and shut it behind her.

"Yip, yip,yip! Be careful, Miracle!"

Miracle nearly jumped out of her armour at the accusing voice behind her. She spun around and her jaw hung slack almost immediately. Ratchet stood, looming over her while Arcee lay limp behind him hooked up to less wires and tubes as when she got hurt. Miracle ducked through the medic's legs just as Optimus opened the door to the medbay.

" _YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE SIR PUFFINGTON THE TICKLEFISH! YOUR ARMPITS ARE MY DOMAIN NOW!"_

Unfazed, Ratchet took a wrench and swung like a pro baseball player.

"OW!" Optimus cried. Ratchet gave him another sizeable dent on the other side of his helm before shushing him and jerking his head towards Miracle and Arcee's limp frame. Optimus immediately drew back and stood solitary in the corner of the room.

Meanwhile, Miracle had climbed up onto the edge of Arcee's berth, standing up so she could get a good look at the damage she still believed she had caused. An energon drip was hooked up to Arcee's arm and a few magnetic pads were placed on her chestplate to monitor her spark and most vital statistics. Her helm was also adorned with several pads and wires. The dent in the back of her helm was also virtually non-existent. Most noticeably, her broken leg had been treated with a welded metal brace.

Miracle's optics glistened with tears and some even spilled down her face and onto Arcee's torso. She threw her arms around her guardian and sobbed into her shoulder. Ratchet sighed and turned away in shame. Optimus placed a hand on his old friend's shoulder.

"You did everything in your power. This is not your fault."

"But it is mine!" Miracle yelled suddenly. Bright blue energon kept spilling out of her optics, creating the illusion of bright blue waterfalls.

"I distracted her for the past few weeks and I snuck into battle and made her not pay attention! This is all my fault!" Miracle broke again and turned her back to the mechs, "A-All my fault…"

She buried herself once again into Arcee, seeking comfort. She clawed at her own armour and twisted and turned. She was inconsolable, seemingly lost to all reason. Miracle let loose a long cry of anguish that no child should have come out of their mouth ever. It was devoid of all joy and was almost enough to still the spark in Ratchet and Optimus' chests.

For the next half an hour, Miracle sobbed and sobbed while the medic and leader tried in vain to console the hysteric girl. Like all toddler tantrums, she listened to no one and cried harder when approached. After a while, she calmed down by herself enough to sit up and take shaky breaths to cool her overheated systems. She sat on the edge of the berth wiping her lingering tears away with a finger.

"Do you feel better?" Ratchet asked. Miracle nodded with a sniffle. Arcee had been still the entire time, barely breathing. Ratchet sighed once more. He went to check Arcee's stats on the green monitor. The young girl looked around the room absentmindedly before looking Arcee's body up and down.

She suddenly felt the urge to touch the pads on Arcee's chest. They were brightly coloured to mark the different streams of data they relayed. She slowly inched her hand forward over her chest. Miracle felt some kind of strange energy that compelled her to touch Arcee's spark. Her hand was centimeters away from her chest when Ratchet turned around and snapped "Miracle, do not touch that!" But it was too late.

Miracle's hand rested on the covering to Arcee's spark.

The femme's optics opened abruptly and surveyed the room disbelievingly, causing Miracle to jump. Arcee gasped for air and twitched. Her processor was so foggy and her vision swam. Arcee felt like she had been thrown off of a building into a lake, hitting the water like it was concrete before sinking into the murky depths. Thankfully, the feeling passed rather quickly when Ratchet's bright examination light shone in her optics. She mumbled a retort.

Ratchet turned off the light and Arcee's optics rested on the smiling face of her daughter. She smiled back and outstretched her arms, with some difficulty. Miracle got over her shock in an instant.

"ARCEE!" she cried as she threw herself into Arcee's awaiting arms. Arcee let glistening tears run down her face as she embraced Miracle with all of her limited strength. She laughed as more tears slid down her metallic cheeks. Miracle did the same. It was almost impossible not to shed a tear at the lovely exchange between the two femmes. Ratchet covertly wiped a tear from under his optic with a finger, which did not go unnoticed by Optimus. He didn't say anything however. He was doing the same.

Arcee cradled Miracle's helm against her chest to let her hear the hum of her spark. For now, nothing would separate mother and daughter.

And nothing ever would.

 **XXX**

 **Gosh darn it I'm SUCH a sucker for family moments like these. Sorry if it felt obnoxiously long...I might be reading my own story and wanted that part to last a long time. It's not a crime, right? Apologies for the long waiting time to get this chapter up. Didn't I say that I would try to get this up by the end of March Break? Oops :)**

 **DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW AND FAVOURITE THIS STORY, AND MOST OF ALL REVIEW! IT'S REALLY NOT THAT HARD Y'KNOW...ALL YOU NEED ARE OPPOSABLE THUMBS AND WIFI. AND I'M FAIRLY SURE THAT YOU ALL HAVE AT LEAST HALF OF THOSE. THE REASON I'M WRITING IN CAPS IS BECAUSE YOU WILL READ THIS THINKING IT'S IMPORTANT AND FALL INTO MY TRAP OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION. HAHA YOU FELL FOR IT!**

 **But seriously please leave a review. It fuels my creativity and gets the chapter up faster. Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

Muffled voices acted as Miracle's alarm clock as she was rudely awoken very early in the morning. The purple walls around her seemed to pulsate, causing a dull ache in her head. While she attempted to fall back asleep, frankly being far too tired to care about what the topic of loud conversation was, she quickly found that simple task to be nearly impossible. The distinct rumble of the voices of Optimus, Bulkhead, and especially Wheeljack caused her bed to shake and her curiosity to be tickled.

Miracle slid off of her berth and after a second thought grabbed her plushie that rested near her pillow. She clutched it close to her chest and opened her door. The voices instantly became clearer as her sliding door disappeared into the wall.

"...and we _should_ be looking after our own, Ratchet! Not harboring some... _spy!_ "

" _Spy?_ I swear to Primus Wheeljack if I could I'd impale you with your _own swords!_ "

"Why are you defending her anyways? Aren't _you_ usually the one to push everybody away?"

"Jackie, that was a little below the belt…c'mon man...just...let it go…"

"No, Bulk, let him finish. Then I'll feel _much_ less guilty for committing murder."

"Arcee!"

"Shut up, Optimus!"

"Wheeljack, you're being completely ludicrous! She is far from being a spy. I checked her myself when she arrived, if there were _any_ weapons or questionable technology on her person I would've detected it. Her results came back clean! She is one-hundred percent trustworthy! And, might I add, she is a _child!_ "

Miracle started walking down the hall towards the main control room. They _had_ to have been talking about her! How many other children were in the base? But they sounded very mad, Wheeljack especially. Had she done something bad? Miracle cringed. Maybe Wheeljack was mad at her for hurting Arcee. But Arcee had forgiven her; it was behind them.

She thought back to the day before, when Ratchet detected Wheeljack's signal aboard his ship the _Jackhammer_. Though Ratchet had been less than thrilled to see the white wrecker, Bulkhead had practically recounted Wheeljack's _entire_ war story repertoire to Miracle in sheer excitement to see his old comrade again. Of course, the original stories of Wheeljack's part in the war were…not exactly PG...so he had to gloss over some of the more gory details. Miracle was nonetheless eager to meet this Wheeljack person.

Two hours later the wrecker in question all but sauntered into the base via the groundbridge. Bulkhead immediately enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug while Miko pounded her fist against his leg in some kind of welcome. However when Miracle approached him, he only gave her a sidelong glance with a frown plastered on his cracked face.

"What's with the kid?" he asked, quite rudely at that. Miracle felt slightly offended but kept it hidden.

"I'm new, mister. I came here not too long ago."

Instead of answering her, Wheeljack turned his back to her to face Ratchet.

"Are you sure we can trust this thing? I mean, she could be…"

"Wheeljack!" Ratchet hissed. He took the wrecker by the arm and took him into a different room and out of Miracle's sight. She couldn't fathom why this new bot didn't like her. What's not to like?

This feeling of hesitation rose to the forefront of her mind as she stopped just short of the command centre. She hid behind a large metallic pipe, most likely used for ventilation, and brought her plushie back up to her chest. Not wanting to disturb the already disturbed, she peered around the pipe, just enough for her left eye and her ear to process what was happening in front of her.

Ratchet and Wheeljack were in a standoff position. Both of the mechs were leaning forward, deep into an intense argument. Bulkhead had both of his arms on Wheeljack's chest as he was trying desperately to stop his friend from brutally attacking the medic. Bumblebee mirrored Bulkhead's position as Ratchet aggressively threw insults at Wheeljack. Optimus tried his best to act as a mediator, standing in between the two mechs, but to little avail as they continued to go at each other's necks. Arcee, using two massive metallic crutches to hold herself upright, stood awkwardly to Ratchet's free side to help him scold Wheeljack. Miracle noted that she still wore the brace on her leg as a result from the damage she sustained from her battle with Dreadwing not too long ago.

"I swear to Primus, Wheeljack. You say one more word against her and I will _personally_ extinguish your spark," Arcee threatened, "painfully," she added.

"Arcee, stand down. That is an order," Optimus rumbled dangerously. Arcee simply shot him an ice-cold glare but headed his command. He turned his attention to Wheeljack and Ratchet once again.

"Ratchet, that is enough! Equally so for you, Wheeljack! You two are acting like sparklings. It is important to keep our heads cool during times like these. If we do not, we are no better than the Decepticons; than Megatron."

"BUT MIRACLE IS A DECEPTICON!"

"...what?" a weak voice whispered. All of the heads in the room spun to see Miracle who had cautiously stepped out from her hiding place, her plushie dropped on the ground, seemingly forgotten. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sniffled. Everyone went silent.

"What do you mean? I'm not a bad guy," she pressed on. Miracle searched for any hint of a lie in the eyes of the assembled team, finding none. She let a single tear roll down her cheek. Seeking comfort, her first instinct was to run into Arcee's arms, but she quickly decided against that. She was a decepticon; she would just hurt anyone she got close to.

It was in her nature after all.

Miracle reached down and grabbed her plushie just as Ratchet broke free of Bumblebee's hold. He approached her without fear, a fact that surprised her if she was being honest, and knelt before her.

"Is it true?" she asked him. She silently begged that this was just some gross joke.

"Yes," Ratchet revealed regretfully, "you are indeed Decepticon."

"Part! She's only part Decepticon!" Arcee yelled from the other end of the room. She managed to hobble over to Ratchet and Miracle.

"You're only part Decepticon, sweetspark. But according to Ratchet, your mother was fully Autobot." She exchanged a knowing look with Ratchet. Arcee was actually the one who originally told Ratchet that she was part 'con, but it wasn't the time to tell Miracle about her full parentage. Not yet.

Arcee bent down to the best of her ability and uncharacteristically spread her arms open to provide as much comfort for the girl as she possibly could. She had originally expected her daughter to come running into her arms, akin to the first time Miracle arrived at the base, but to her shock, Miracle began to cry and pulled away as fast and aggressively as she could. She shook her head as if to say, "don't touch me."

"Miracle…what's wrong?" Arcee asked, hurt evident in her tone.

"Don't touch me! I'll just hurt you again!" Miracle cried, hugging her plushie close and sobbing into it. It was physically impossible to get her arms any closer to her person. Arcee tried to reach out to her again, only to have Miracle back away again.

"Please, stay away from me! I don't want you to get hurt again…I don't like seeing you hurt. I don't like to see anybody hurt," she gestured to the assembled bots, "and I'm sorry. I'll just go now…" With that, Miracle turned on her heel and ran back to her room. Her small feet made an echo in the giant grey hallway. With each step, Arcee's spark sank deeper into her chest. She had no idea what to do. Sure, she was a parent, but that didn't mean that she knew how to handle children that young.

Arcee managed to stand up with some assistance from Ratchet. The heavy feeling in her spark instantly turned to rage as soon as she spun around to face Wheeljack.

And he could _tell_ she was _pissed._

She made good time on her crutches. She was on top of Wheeljack within seconds spewing some choice words at him.

"I can't _believe_ you, Wheeljack! How _dare_ you say those things about her! I don't want you to go _anywhere near_ her! You _ass!_ She's just a child! Sure, she might be part 'con, but that _wasn't_ her choice!" Large tears slid out of the corner of Arcee's eyes now. "You don't know her like I do! Answer me this, moron: if she _was_ a 'con, why hasn't she hurt any of us yet? Huh? _Huh?_ "

"How could you _possibly_ know for sure? The only bots that _might_ know would be Megatron and her parents. And guess what, Arcee? You aren't _either_ of them!"

Before anyone could register what was happening, Arcee let out a cry of fury and slapped Wheeljack across the face. _Hard._

All eyes were on the pair on the floor. Arcee still had her hand raised, tears streaming down her cheeks. Wheeljack on the other hand, frozen from shock, lay down ridgid as a wooden board, eyes wide. Though the slap didn't hurt, he was surprised that she had actually hit him.

Arcee got off of him, angrily wiped her eyes, and glared furiously at every member in the room.

" _What?_ " she demanded, her tone like ice. The mechs avoided her gaze. One thing they had all learned was to give Arcee space when she got like this. She whipped around and started off down the hall, presumably to either her room or Miracle's room.

The second her footsteps died away, Bulkhead helped Wheeljack up off the floor. He immediately opted to smack him upside the head.

"Hey! What was that for?" he demanded, rubbing the sore spot of the back of his head.

"You really don't know when to quit, do you?" Wheeljack was taken aback. He wasn't used to this accusing side of Bulkhead. Usually the big lug was pretty agreeable.

"Pardon me?"

"You don't know when to quit. Couldn't you see that Arcee was bothered by something? Piece of advice, buddy: don't... _ever_...push Arcee to her limits. It _will_ escalate, and you _will_ end up losing. Got it?" Bulkhead warned. Wheeljack, too proud to admit defeat, spun and went up to the lift to the roof. It was clear that he would promptly be leaving. Bulkhead sighed and retreated to his own room with a meek,

"I gotta get some rest."

Bumblebee followed Bulkhead, running to catch up to him. Soon Ratchet and Optimus were the only ones in the command centre.

"Ratchet," Optimus started, "do you have any clue as to why Arcee acted so brashly? I am aware that she can be...trying...when she gets angry, but that was uncalled for. Do you think it has anything to do with Miracle?"

"U-uh, well...she hasn't said anything recently." Technically that was true, since she told him about Miracle a month or so ago. He briefly considered telling Optimus the truth, but then he remembered back to when he promised Arcee he wouldn't tell anyone, and the look on her face, pleading him not to tell. Now was not the time.

"I think her irrationality might be caused by carrier instincts. All femmes have them, naturally. A femme might become protective when cares for a child that isn't hers, and that protective instinct could take the form of a nurturing demeanor, or in Arcee's case, an aggressive one. It varies from femme to femme, so there isn't any concrete way to predict how they will react to taking care of a child. Arcee has also been tasked with a lot as she must perform her duties _and_ look after Miracle. There could also be a stress factor that could be influencing…" Ratchet stopped himself. He was rambling on, after all. Optimus had a bemused look on his face with his arms crossed.

"If you say so, Ratchet," he said simply. He turned to head into the hallway and stopped. He glanced back over his massive shoulder.

"For the record, I _know_ you and Arcee are keeping something from us. What that is I am sure I will find out in due time. Until then...have a good night." With that, Optimus left Ratchet to his own thoughts.

Ratchet scoffed sarcastically, "A good night, indeed."

XXX

 **Oh my gosh it's been a long time! How long has it been?**

 **I just checked...it's been a** _ **YEAR?**_

 **Wow...how time flies I guess?**

 **I am SO SORRY for not posting sooner. I wish I had a better excuse than "I didn't feel like it," but honestly I don't. I had no idea what to do after the last chapter ended plot-wise. Thank GOD for my friend, Alex (you know who you are) for basically writing the entire chapter for me! Seriously, she gave me all the major plot points for this chapter and the next (which** _ **hopefully**_ **will be out before April 13, 2019). I'll do my best to update as soon as I can! But with my track record, honestly, who knows when I'm gonna post next. Although I do have the plot points for the next chapter...hmmmm…**

 **Thank you all SO MUCH for sticking with me and this story! It really means a lot to me!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey hey! I'm** _ **baaack!**_ **And sooner than you probably expected, I'm sure. Now without further ado, on with the next installment! Keep your eyes peeled for some slight Optimus x Arcee because I can't stray too far from my roots :)**

XXX

A week had passed since the whole "Decepticon in disguise" fiasco involving Miracle, Wheeljack, and Arcee. Since then, Miracle had been very elusive. She never stayed in the same room as any other member of the team for more than 30 seconds, she barely ate, and she spent most of her free time in her room. On occasion, her quiet sobs could be heard emanating from her door and into the hallway. This type of behaviour wasn't natural for anyone, especially a child. That had both Ratchet and Arcee extremely worried.

"I don't know _what_ to do, Ratchet!" Arcee exclaimed as she took a seat frustratedly in the medbay. "She won't talk to me, she won't eat, she won't even _look_ at me! I'm? _argh!_ " she hissed in pain when Ratchet "examined" her leg a little too roughly. He loosened his grip and muttered an apology under his breath.

"Well, I can't see why you're coming to _me_ of all people with your concerns, Arcee. As I recollect, I'm not the best when it comes to anything relating to children. Plus, you're her _mother_. Shouldn't you know what to do in these kinds of situations?"

"As _I_ recollect, Ratchet, I only raised her for...how long again? Right, _two weeks!_ " she let out a puff of air through her lips before continuing. "Besides, I was never good with children to begin with. I'm really worried about her, Ratchet. I don't want her to become depressed again. Trust me; it isn't fun. But I don't know what else to try! Do you have any suggestions...any at _all_?"

Ratchet sighed loudly as he finished inspecting Arcee's still damaged leg. She wouldn't be able to walk without crutches for another estimated 2 weeks. That, coupled with the stress she was under dealing with Miracle and her recent behaviour, could be enough to push Arcee over the edge, possibly causing her to become even more temperamental than before.

"Oh, well, I don't know," he said finally. "Ask Optimus, he might know what to do. He has more experience dealing with bots from all walks of life than I do. In a social sense, that is," he added.

Arcee gathered her crutches and stood up. She nodded curtly in thanks before heading to the door. Before she opened it, however, she stopped.

"Thank you for keeping this secret, Ratchet. It really means a lot to me," she revealed over her shoulder. He nodded and gave her a rare smirk before continuing his work.

XXX

Arcee made her way down the hall towards the command centre. However, even that simple task wasn't without its challenges. Since her right leg was locked in place by a brace that went from her mid-shin all the way up to her mid-thigh, she was instructed to use crutches for the time being to keep as much pressure off of the wound as possible. Ratchet's orders. Of course, that also meant that she was relieved of active duty. She let out a faint growl out of her throat. She'd never liked being useless, and this _certainly_ was making her feel like a burden on the rest of the team.

Speaking of burdens, she still felt horrible about how things were left with Miracle after Wheeljack _so graciously_ decided to pay the team a visit last week. She'd run into the girl a few times, but the meeting were quick and Miracle always ran away at the end. _Nothing_ Arcee did seemed to work.

She tried asking her what was wrong…

XXX

A light brush up against the back of Arcee's undamaged leg caused her to spin around quickly. A big pair of blue and lilac eyes met hers before widening. Miracle turned to run away... _again,_ but Arcee was faster. She caught the girl by the arms and planted her in front of her.

"Miracle, I'm going to ask you this once, ok? What's wrong?" Arcee said slowly. There was no hostility in her voice, simply the desire to know the truth.

Miracle closed her eyes tight and shook her head, refusing to look Arcee in the eyes.

"Mm-mm," she mumbled, lips pressed tightly together.

"Miracle, _please_. I'm asking nicely, aren't I?"

"Mm-mm."

"Miracle…" a warning tone crept into her voice.

"Mm-mm!" Miracle's eyes flew open and she managed to jerk out of Arcee's grasp and sprint down the dark hall, not even bothering to look back. Arcee just sighed and carried on.

XXX

She tried reverse psychology…

XXX

"Ok listen up, Miracle." Arcee declared as she walked into the girl's room, since she _knew_ she was in there.

"Whatever you do... _don't_ come and tell me what's wrong. I don't know why you'd even _think_ about coming near me." Arcee watched as Miracle bowed her head and covered herself up to her neck in blankets.

"I don't even _want_ you right beside me," she crossed her arms sarcastically, "or else you'd be in trouble." Arcee smirked, letting her daughter know it was meant to be a joke. But Miracle didn't catch on, or she didn't want to.

"I wasn't planning on it, Arcee," Miracle whispered. She turned her back to the larger bot and laid down, pulling the blankets over her head. That didn't go as she expected. Arcee felt a weight drag her spark down into her stomach. She lowered her head.

"Ok, Miracle. Whatever you want." With that, Arcee left her room.

XXX

She even tried to wait it out. Miracle would surely come back to her after a day or two. Children tended to have very short attention spans; she'd forget about what happened after a little while. _No dice_. Nothing Arcee seemed to do worked.

A feeling of helplessness crept into her spark. _Nothing_ could have prepared Arcee for the parenting lifestyle. Not in war. It was just so hard to make sure that a sparkling was both well-cared for _and_ content, not to mention mentally stable. But since Miracle's past was anything _but_ stable, Arcee feared that the girl could fall back into depression, and _no_ parent wants to see their child in pain. Even though Miracle tried to hide it, Arcee instinctively _knew_ that Miracle has hurting. She could feel it through the parental bond her and Miracle shared, not that the girl was even aware of such a thing.

Maybe _that's_ why Arcee had been feeling somber lately. Miracle's sadness was affecting her own emotions, causing her to lash out at teammates for no reason (or with little provocation... _Wheeljack_ ), and causing her to become very tired _very_ easily. She almost fell asleep yesterday during a medical exam, in fact. Now _that_ didn't make Ratchet happy.

She finally reached the door to Optimus' personal chambers. Truth be told, Arcee had never actually been to his quarters before. She'd always wanted to respect his privacy, just like he respected everyone else's. Arcee tentatively knocked on the _massive_ door. She heard heavy footsteps gradually getting louder until the door opened and there stood Optimus.

"Hello, Arcee. To what do I owe this visit?" Arcee was certainly not a timid being, however the sheer size of her leader at this particular moment made her feel _incredibly_ small, and not just in stature.

"Uh, hi, Optimus. I...uh...could I come in? It's a bit of a personal manner...Ratchet thought that you might be able to help me." She wrung her hands in a very out-of-character manner. Being the kind soul he was, he pretended not to notice and silently stepped aside, motioning her into his room. She smiled shyly and entered.

It took her by surprise how clean his room was. She also took note of how empty it was. The standard berth, shelving unit, and desk sat against various walls. The only noticeable feature in the room was the miniature monitor array that glowed a light green, much like Ratchet's array in the command centre. As a whole, Optimus' chambers reflected its owner, organised and to-the-point.

She hovered around the door before he beckoned her in further. Since his berth was so much bigger than hers, Arcee had to jump a bit off of her good leg to take a seat with him. She avoided his heavy gaze on her for a long moment while she wrung her hands, facing the floor. Feeling the need for conversation to break the awkward silence that followed, Optimus spoke.

"I can tell something is bothering you, Arcee. Can I be of any service?" Arcee finally gathered her courage and faced her leader.

"Actually, yes, there's something I could use your advice on. It's...about Miracle," she started. He nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"Well, as you've probably noticed, she's been reclusive lately. I've tried to talk to her, but that's just made it worse! She refuses to even _look_ at me. I...I just don't know what to do. I've run out of ideas." Optimus nodded once more, _hmmm_ -ing in thought.

"I have noticed her strange behaviour recently. Ever since she found out her Decepticon heritage, she seems to almost want to avoid contact in fear of hurting those around her. I believe that if you give her time, she will forget and move on."

"But that's _exactly_ what I've done, Optimus!" Arcee fumed. "I don't think you understand the concept of ' _I've tried everything.'_ I'm out of ideas and out of time. I don't just want her back...I _need_ her back. She's like...the missing piece of myself that I can't seem to fill. I just love her so much," a single tear rolled down her cheek, "... _so much_."

Seeing this, Optimus took Arcee's small face in both his hands and tilted it up to him. His sad eyes locked with hers. A thumb came and wiped the tear away from her cheek, only to have another well up underneath her other eye.

 _She's beautiful._ His hands gently caressed her face, tracing her jawline and pink details on the sides of her face. Her breath hitched in her throat, but she did not break eye contact with him. The sight of him so close to her lifted her spirits some, and she gave him a small smile. He uncharacteristically smiled back and, albeit regretfully, removed his hands from her face.

"Thank you, Optimus," Arcee said softly.

"Anything for you, Arcee," Optimus responded. Arcee's serene smile was once again replaced with a frown as she bowed her head down again.

"I still don't have any clue what to do about Miracle, though."

"Talk to h—"

"Do I need to tell you that I've already _done_ that?"

"Do I need to tell you to let me finish?"

"...no. Continue."

"As I was saying, talk to her as if she was an adult. Miracle is obviously an intelligent and capable sparkling who can understand the world around her. Perhaps you could bring to her attention that you outrank her, and that, from a military standpoint, she _must_ give you an answer." Arcee thought about what he said. It could work.

"I...I don't know about this, Optimus. I mean, yes she's competent, but she's still a _child._ There's no guarantee that she's going to listen. Or even that I'll catch her before she runs away... _again_ …"

"If you choose not to take my advice, that is your decision to make, and yours alone. But like you said, Arcee. _You've tried everything_. Why not give this strategy a try?"

Arcee forced her eyes shut. She didn't want to hurt Miracle. She'd been through so much already in her short life. But if tough love was the only way to get her back, then she was willing to risk everything. Miracle was as much a part of Arcee as Arcee was a part of Miracle. Even though she didn't know it yet, the two femmes were connected by everything under the sun. Being apart only hurt them both. It was time to rectify the situation at hand.

Arcee opened her optics, a new fire underneath the steely blue and lilac rings that Optimus had never seen before. She turned to him and smiled.

"I'll do it. Thank you for everything, Optimus. You've been more of a help than you could ever know." She drew nearer to him, and after a brief hesitation, she planted a small peck on his cheek. Before he could say anything, however, she hopped down carefully from his berth and set off towards Miracle's room.

He watched her go while placing a hand on the spot where her lips touched.

XXX

Miracle sat up on her bed, fiddling with her necklace and glancing sidelong at no particular spot on the opposite wall. Her blankets were strewn all around the room and her favourite plushie sat abandoned on top of her comforter. She didn't want to admit that she had a tantrum, but that was the most appropriate word for it.

She'd been very angry recently, seemingly without provocation. She's lash out at random objects or 'bots for the most minute reasons. The other day she'd ran into Bumblebee in the command centre playing his favourite racing game with Raf. The sound of the background music in the game felt like it was burrowing into her brain and it agitated her to no end. She moved to leave the room with a scream of rage that startled Raf so much he fell off of the couch. Bumblebee made it even worse when he reprimanded her for screaming. She grabbed the nearest object, which in this unfortunate case was one of Ratchet's tools, and threw it as hard as she could in the boys' general direction. What possessed her to do such a thing she didn't know, but it did allow her to channel a tiny part of her building aggression.

She'd gotten in trouble with Ratchet for that one. Like she cared.

There were also the intense waves of depression that racked her body from time to time. Miracle would be assaulted with sobs and cascading tears that seemed to appear from nowhere. It felt akin to the time that her spark felt like it was dying when Arcee got injured. The twisting sensation was almost too much for her to bear at some times. But she was strong. She'd calm herself down and wait it out, usually until she fell asleep. And this was how Miracle lived her life. Day in, day out.

A knock at the door interrupted her train of thought.

She grumbled and flopped back down onto her berth. The knocking persisted.

"Go away!" she yelled. Three more forceful knocks answered her. Miracle screamed at the door.

" _NO!_ "

Miracle suddenly panicked as she heard the soft beeps coming from the keypad to her room. Someone was forcing their way into her room!

The door finally slid open and Arcee stood there with her crutches. Miracle screamed at her before grabbing her plushie and throwing it at her out of instinct. Arcee growled and caught the toy before dropping the crutches and letting the door close behind her. Miracle ran to the back of her room where Arcee cornered her. She once again held Miracle by her shoulders to make her look at her face.

"Ok Miracle this is how it's going to work," Arcee said to the girl, "I'm going to treat you as if you were under my command...since you technically _are_. You want to be treated like a grown-up, am I correct?" Miracle nodded bashfully.

"Then you're going to have to face grown-up consequences for your actions. When I want to talk to you, you have to _listen,_ and that's just how it's going to be, whether you like it or not. I'm second-in-command of this team, and I will _not_ allow your personal feelings to get in the way of the team's chemistry... _especially_ the chemistry between me, your guardian, and you, my charge. Is that understood?" Miracle nodded but avoided eye contact.

"Good. Will you do something like this again?"

"...no."

"Will you stop blaming yourself for what happened?"

Miracle sniffed as a tear fell from her eye. "Probably not."

Arcee's hard gaze softened and fell to the floor. The sadness Miracle was feeling was starting to affect her. She felt it weighing down her spark. A tear also fell from Arcee's eye. An onlooker might think this was a crazy coincidence, but Arcee knew better. Miracle needed to be forgiven _now_ before it hurt either femme too badly.

"Is...is it ok if I give you a hug, Miracle?" Miracle nodded and didn't even give Arcee time to react as she all but threw herself into her awaiting arms. A rack of sobs tore through the young femme's frame as she clutched Arcee with all of the strength she had. She squeezed her eyes shut causing tears to start running down her metallic cheeks. Arcee started to cry as well, but she closed her eyes and attempted to stay strong for her and her daughter.

Unknown to both of the femmes, but a soft blue-hued glow began to shine from Arcee and Miracle's sparks which cast a feeling of warmth and security over them, causing them both to smile. The glow faded before they both opened their eyes.

"Arcee?" Miracle whispered.

"Yes, Miracle?"

"I...I love you."

"...I love you too, sweetspark." Arcee brought Miracle close once more.

 _That means more to me than you'll ever know, baby girl._

XXX

 **Did anyone else see Avengers: Infinity War? I DIED A LITTLE INSIDE JUST SAYING. But don't worry, I'm not gonna spoil it or anything… ;)**

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